Duude, the colors

As most bloggers already know, one of the keys to an interesting post are eye catching pics. Thanks to the free on-line version of Photoshop Express there's really no excuse for badly exposed or poorly shot pics. This is a much stripped down version of Photoshop but it allows the amateur photog some basic photo editing tools like color correction, cropping etc. You can then upload and share your mini masterpieces or embarrassing little moments with the rest of humanity. Here are a couple of examples of how adjusting the tint can add a surreal quality to your pics.


I snapped this series in Pensacola Fl shortly after the area took a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. I found this abandoned pickup on a closed stretch of beach and to this day I can't figure out what the Hell, "GCC Locals Only" means. I'm guessing it's some sort of hillbilly talk for, "We don't take kindly to strangers." If you've never been to Pensacola, you're not missing much. It's on the panhandle of the state and it's very conservative and rednecky but you can buy a home for literally Half the Asking Price of the Seattle market.

Easter-Catholic Style

It looks like the Catholic Church down the street from me just installed a new cross. I have to admire the minemalistic vibe but let's be honest and admit we all prefer the old school Christ in agony on the cross that daisymayrobin just blogged about.

Hey Mary, What are you holding in your hands? Is that a doll, No I think it's our future savior.

My hood

Here's the view from my balcony in Interbay looking at lovely Magnolia. Some might call this little known hood, the bastard child of Ballard. Enough with the trash talk! Whole Foods is apparently being built here so we have that going for us-plus a driving range and P-Patch.

The Interbay rail station. I don't normally hear the trains unless it's Summer and I have my windows open. The white noise is soothing (from a distance) if I'm drifting off to sleep on my living room couch.

Could they build those houses any closer to the tracks!


Creepy Q "Cafe" which is located conveniently next to Quest church. I can't figure this place out because it's always empty when I drive by and they're often closed during the week. I'm sure it's a front for some extremist Christian group and I'll bet they have secret meetings in the basement. Christian Soccer Moms like coffee too-but in a Pro JC environment.

Beer Porn

Happy St. Patty's Day to all!

I guess I should feel more of a kinship to this holiday because my mom's side of the family is Irish and I lived in Chicago where they dye the Chicago River green each year. I've always sort of thought of this day as amature night but it's a good excuse to get lit after work on a Monday night.

SODO

Seattle is generally pretty easy on the eyes with plenty of parks and fancy new condos but a true city needs to have it's share of gritty industrial areas.
I'm really drawn towards SODO because it kinda remains me of when I was living in a raw loft space in Chicago when I was just out of film school. It was a huge open space that was perfect for production work but it was COLD as hell in the Winter.Here are some pics I took this weekend as I enjoyed the late afternoon sun.

Man Bag 08'

Two of my lady blogger friends are slightly obsessed with purses and boyz can like man bags or murses too.

I always thought bike messenger bags were cool but quite frankly I think that most bike messengers are A-holes so I have always resisted the ultra-trendy bags until I came accross the Hip-Hop Bag by Ogio. I'm all about the "hip-hop", yeah right.

This bag has so many damn pockets that I wished I had more things to carry on my daily routine. I can store my Mac-book, Ipod Nano and Celly (maybe a boxed lunch or afternoon snack) but this crazy ass bag has several extra pouches including one for airline tickets. I think I'll go to Seatac this weekend with my new bag and just walk around the numerous terminals and pretend that I have a flight to catch. YES, I have a lot of spare time on my hands.

The sweetest thing about that world wide web craze is that you can search for a specific item and find it at a really reasonable price and thanks to The Nerds I found this super cheap.

Gmoney's Book Club

V-day is the day that people traditionally express their love for their spouse, partner or F*CK-buddy, but not everyone is tied down to just one person. In celebration of non-monogymous relationships, I am proud to share with you, The Art of Mackin. The "how to" book for wannabe playas or pimps.

Here are some selected exerpts:

How to tell if a woman is a chickenhead (low-budget or hoochie)
* Her weave doesn't match her real hair.
* If she has gold teeth.
* If she has acrylics on her toenails.

Here is how you can tell you're in the home of a chickenhead:
* If her mother tries to send you to the store for beer.
* If she washes her panties in the bathroom sink.

According to the author, there are 5 types of pimps:
1: The Gorilla Pimp
2: The Sweet Mackin Pimp (I'd fall into that category)
3: The Rigid Pimp (Not sure what that means)
4: The Professional Pimp (Aren't they all? )
5: The Overly Flashy Pimp

This book contains a wealth of material for the beginning pimp and proudly sits on my bathroom shelf next to my Ebola stuffed animal that is magnified 1,000,000 times the actual size, giantmicrobes.com

Thanks to my dear friend Jody that gave this book to me as a birthday gift a few years ago.